Promotora de salud: promoting folic acid use among Hispanic women.

BACKGROUND: The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women in the United States capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 μg of folic acid daily to reduce their risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD). However, disparities exist in the consumption of folic acid, with Hispanic women having lower rates of folic acid consumption than non-Hispanic white women.

METHODS: A community-based feasibility study was designed to assess the utility of the promotora de salud model to promote consumption of multivitamins containing folic acid for the prevention of NTDs among Spanish-speaking Hispanic women in North Carolina. The study consisted of an educational intervention given by a promotora (a lay, community health worker), with data collection occurring at baseline and four months post-intervention to measure changes in knowledge and behavior. Overall, 52% (n=303) of participants completed all components of the study.

RESULTS: Self-reported daily multivitamin consumption increased from 24% at baseline to 71% four months post-intervention. During the same time frame, awareness of folic acid increased from 78% to 98% and knowledge of the role of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects increased from 82% to 92%.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the promotora de salud model may be effective in reaching a subpopulation of women with the folic acid message. Additional studies with larger population sizes are warranted to validate these findings.